Karen & Alexa Ch. 03

"Ohhhh myyyyyy gawwwwwwwwwd ..." she moaned loudly, staring at the ceiling. "Kar, please tell me it's over."

"I think we did it, little sister," Karen replied, reaching over and clasping Alexa's hand. It was pretty much all she could manage. "I'm inclined to believe that we actually, against all odds, won the Blackwell War."

"It's like a dream ..." Alexa murmured, still focused on a faraway point on the ceiling. "I can't believe how long these three days have been."

"Made worse only by missing our husbands," Karen sighed, waiting, desperately hoping, for the tension to bleed out of her body. Her skin felt like there was simmering air just underneath it, and every single nerve was raw. There wasn't a moment of this she hadn't hated. Alli no doubt felt the same. "Think you'll make it 'til Sunday?"

"Only if this is really Friday," Alexa muttered. "And it's not even happy hour yet."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to that bottle of anniversary Scotch in the worst way," admitted the older sister. "I shouldn't be, but I am."

"It's like Frodo carrying the One Ring, isn't it?" Alexa said, turning her head slightly to look at her sister. "The worst burden on earth, but you've gotta do it, because no one else can."

"Apparently you haven't been away from the men long enough to not make absurd geek analogies," Karen grunted.

"No, that one was my own, thank you," protested the blonde and nudging her sibling with her elbow, making Karen smile. "It's gonna be so nice to be home, I gotta admit."

"Back in his arms," Karen said almost dreamily, closing her eyes. "All this nonsense forgotten."

"D'you think it worked?" asked Alexa. "D'you think we've whipped them into shape, to the place where our visits might even become pleasant, or at least less intolerable?"

"One can only hope," Karen said, quietly but grimly while she rubbed at her eyes. "I really hated using the nuclear option on Roddy like that."

"I dunno, I think it sounded kinda funny," Alexa snickered. "Seeing two grown men cowering because a woman was yelling at them over the phone."

"Rodney may hide it deep down, but he'll never forgive me for that," sighed the bronze-haired woman. "I humiliated him even worse than Michael did all those years ago when he smacked him around for forcing himself on Lisa. This was a whole new level. We'll have to keep watch, but he'll behave as long as Aunt Grace remains compos mentis."

"That's a relief, of sorts," Alexa allowed. "I had a relatively easy time with uncle Alistair. I think he was desperately searching for some justification to not oppose us, and needed to hear some things. I almost felt bad for him."

"Pity the elder generations their foibles when you can, millennial," Karen pointed out. "Two generations from know, everyone is going to think what you and your cohorts did was phenomenally stupid."

"Oh, you and your wisdom of the ages logic," muttered the blonde. "Only person worse than you is your husband."

"We Gen X'ers were the last of the critical thinkers," Karen said, shrugging. "Now it's all perception and what suits you. Reality be damned."

"Hey, we don't believe that," Alexa said.

"The truth isn't the truth," Karen countered. "Rudy Giuliani never said anything that Orwellian to my generation, because he knew we'd all read '1984' in high school. We wouldn't buy into it in a fit of pique."

"Yeah, well ... Harry Potter dealt with state disinformation too, y'know."

"Good for him, Alli," Karen said, smiling and patting her sister on the cheek. "And as tired as we are, we need to meet the others in the lounge for drinks. Believe it or not, war is never conducted in the lounge, so it should be a rather pleasant change."

"And dinner after that?" Alexa queried, trying to sit up. "I'm starving."

Karen nodded, smiling. "Alistair insists we join him at La Planque tonight. It'll be a chance for you to meet a few other members of the family, probably more to your liking."

"Aged scotch and then gourmet dinner with new family?" Alexa mused, rising to her feet as if reinvigorated. "My night's sounding pretty good."

"That's the spirit!" Karen laughed as she let Alexa pull her up out of the chesterfield.

***

To Alexa's delight, drinks in the lounge and then dinner with the Struin-Blackwells had been very pleasant. Rodney and Ripley had declined dinner, slinking off home at the earliest opportunity. Florence had surprisingly stayed, but Karen explained that Florence never turned down the opportunity to be seen in a posh restaurant. Cousin Ainsley was there, and many new faces, all of whom were thrilled to meet Alexa finally.

It was late at night when they'd made it back to the hotel, showered and called their husbands, updating them on everything that had happened. Neither Michael nor Alex seemed at all surprised by this outcome, congratulating their wives on a hard-fought victory. They'd all be back together soon enough.

The sisters were now lying in bed, on their sides with their bodies pressed together, squirming around and moaning as they kissed feverishly. Sweat glistened on their beautiful forms and they finally sighed and relaxed, stroking each other's cheeks and looking deeply into one another's eyes.

"Well, ten orgasms later, I guess I'm quite a bit more relaxed than I was earlier today," Alexa mused, rubbing her nose against her sister's and smiling. "I think that's a new record for us."

"In such a short time span, it seems impressive," Karen agreed. "Granted, nowhere near my record with Michael in one evening, but that's a different matter altogether."

Alexa giggled. "Me either; my record with Alex is seventeen, I think. He got his tongue from you, didn't he? He must've."

"I'd hate to have to guess between myself or Michael," replied the older sister. "But I can't lick myself any more these days, and Alex sure as Hell isn't, so this mystery may go unsolved."

"What do you mean you can't lick yourself?" Alexa asked, tilting her head up to frown at her sister.

"I thought I was fairly succinct," Karen said. "I haven't been able to fold myself over to lick my tingly parts since I was in my mid-thirties."

"Bull, you just stopped trying," Alexa announced. "I'll bet within two weeks, I can get you more than flexible enough to lick your own pussy again. Deal?"

"Okay, baby sister, deal," Karen agreed, rolling her eyes and smiling as she shook her head. "The search for unlimited fusion energy continues, but Karen DeBourne can lick her own crotch again, world. Rejoice."

"So sarcastic ..." Alexa giggled as she pulled Karen close for another kiss while sliding her fingers down and into her sister's gooey pussy.

***

Saturday was a delight for Alexa, marred only by the fact that Alex was not with her. She'd begged Karen to ask the boys to join them, but her older sister pointed out that Mike and Alex would politely decline, because this week was supposed to bond the sisters and focus them on their turbulent family. And Alexa had to admit, she would do no such thing if Alex were around.

After breakfast, the sisters had visited the citadel that overlooked the city, and the Plains of Abraham, the site of probably the most significant battle ever fought on New World soil. It had been comparatively small, but it had determined the fate of the entire continent in a way no other battle ever had.

"It's so weird to be standing here," Alexa mused, gazing out over the green sward of grass stretched before them. "I've stood on so many battlefields in Europe ... Waterloo, Hastings, Teutoburg Forest, Austerlitz, Vimy ... but being here, somehow, is so ... personal."

Karen considered. She'd stood on this bloody ground more times than she could remember, to the point that it was rather routine for her. "It might be the Canadian in you, and the fact that you've never really interacted with much of your heritage."

"I think I can see our room from here, Kar," Alexa said, pointing at the Chateau Frontenac, not far beyond the memorial park and the citadel. "We left our curtains open. Anyone could be watching us fuck."

"Annnd the moment is lost ..." Karen said dryly while her little sister snickered. "I believe you about Alex being the romantic one. Michael is too."

"He never gets tired of reading French poetry and lit to me," agreed the blonde. "He knows it makes me gooey."

"Lisa used to get uncomfortably wet when I spoke Russian in her presence," Karen added, taking her sister's hand and walking along a path across the memorial park. "Oddly enough, Michael doesn't get an erection from it."

"I think the boys are less aural than we are, generally," Alexa pointed out. "Unless we're making squishy sex noises, or moaning breathily."

"Don't you dare, missy," Karen warned. "I will push you right off this cliff, and it'll take you a lot longer to make it back up than it took General Wolfe."

Alexa just giggled and put her arm around her sister's, her head on Karen's shoulder, and walked along beside her, just enjoying their time together. Everything else could wait.

***

Saturday night meant meeting more Blackwells, these considerably more fun from Alexa's standpoint. Most already had heard about her relationship with Alex, but also seemed accepting and hopeful that the laws about their union would be changed soon. While Rodney and Ripley were nowhere to be seen, their mother, Grace, had come to see the sisters. She hugged Alexa readily.

"I haven't seen you since you were a baby," murmured the older woman through their embrace. "It's been too long, my dear."

"Thank you, auntie," Alexa replied, trying not to tear up. "I kinda wish Rodney and Ripley had come; I wanted to make my peace with them, y'know?"

"Oh, honey, that's a good ways off yet," Grace replied, pulling back form the hug and smiling at the blonde beauty. "I love my son and grandson, but a good parent knows their offspring, and when they're not through being idiots. No, they'd just sulk if they were here, and ruin the mood. But don't you worry, young lady. I think you and Alex are perfect for one another, and it will get taken care of. Karen and Michael can make anything happen."

"I don't think I've ever heard a Blackwell refer to my brother-in-law by his first name," Alexa laughed. "It's like you all think he's Voldemort."

"Oh, he just upsets our sense of entitlement and view of the universe, we're annoying that way," Grace said dismissively, waving it off. "But I'm not like that. I see Mike for what he is, and that's Karen's equal, and therefore a great advantage to us as a family, even if the rest of them are too petty to see it. Even Jonathon thought he was exceptional."

They'd met at a dinner club, and there were about twenty members of the family present, including Grace, Alistair and Ainsley. Everyone else was younger, and just breaking into the family business or had gone in a different direction entirely. The table was lively and cheerful, mostly focused on catching up with Alexa and her life in Europe. Many regretted Miranda's decision to remain closed off and give no indication of where they'd lived, but they all understood there was a reason, whatever it happened to be.

Dancing at the club followed, mostly jazz and swing, of course. Alexa and Karen danced with nearly everyone, and nobody even blinked when they danced as a couple, seeing only sisters enjoying an evening out. They didn't notice how their breasts were pressing together, harder than one might expect, or the swaying, touching and grinding of their hips when they could get away with it. Karen and Alexa's faces gave nothing away.

"It's remarkable, Karen," Alistair mused as he sat next to his niece and sipped at his whiskey while they watched Alexa on the dance floor with several younger members of the family. "She's like you, she's the center of attention, but still so different in so many ways."

"We had very different upbringings, uncle," replied the bronze-haired goddess, sipping at her absinthe drink and watching the merriment. Alexa seemed to be dancing with at least four members of the family, all at once. "It was a gift, certainly. She was free to grow up how she chose, provided she excelled at everything that came her way. Her life was set to be the very opposite of mine in so many ways."

"I see the truth of it," he agreed, nodding. "She's very much a free spirit, which I imagine you could have been, except for how you were reared."

"Perhaps," Karen allowed with a shrug. "I was a lot more defiant than Alli, and it manifested itself in strange ways, certainly. Had it not been for Michael, I would probably still prefer the company of women."

"Your father never quite wrapped his head around that," Alistair chuckled. "And if the rest of the family suspected, they all knew better than to say anything about it, lest you tear their heads off. You were greatly admired, but also greatly feared. So when you brought that gargantuan man into our midst, you caused quite a panic."

"I'll admit to being thoroughly delighted when I saw that, uncle," she said somewhat smugly, taking another sip of her drink. "This family is so uptight that people with repressions like Roddy and his son occur."

"You see something you don't like in those two?" asked the elderly man, curious. "Rodney's selfish and naked ambition aside, I mean."

"Roddy's always had a terrible time with treating women with respect," Karen sighed. "He's lucky to have Adriana as a wife and doormat. And I saw the way Ripley was looking at Alexa that first day in the boardroom. It was dark and ugly, uncle. It didn't leave until Alexa smacked it out of him."

"Just as well she did then, for his own sake," he muttered, shaking his head. "But Grace will keep him in line, don't worry. She knows to, especially now."

"Is there any future for us, uncle?" Karen asked, putting down her glass and turning her head to look at him, concern on her face. "I may want us to adapt and be ready to move into the future, but I am devoted to this family remaining a family and not dissolving with the madness of globalization."

Alistair considered for some time before answering. "It's up to Alexandra and her peers, really," he said finally. "With you at the helm, we'll show them the way as best we can, but we also can't stop them from having no interest in our dealings and operations. Fewer and fewer of us each generation are getting involved in any meaningful way. Unless your sister or some other gifted young member steps forward, it might be only another generation or two before the dream and the ideal end."

At least it wouldn't happen on her watch. But she still didn't like the thought at all.

Glenn Miller's 'A String of Pearls' began playing.

"And this is our song, uncle," Karen declared, putting down her drink and rising, taking his hand. "Can't have the youngsters thinking they own the dance floor, can we? May I borrow him, Barb?"

Alistair's wife smiled and nodded. Alistair escorted her onto the dance floor, and people parted around them, letting them take the center. Alexa laughed and clapped in delight as her older sister showed everyone the definition of grace and beauty.

And she was finally convinced that her reunion with her family was going to work out just fine.

***

Though both sisters had enjoyed the last two days in Quebec, Sunday had arrived, and they would be leaving later that afternoon. Morning found them driving in a rented car outside of the city and headed to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica.

"Umm, I wouldn't claim to be an expert yet, but I'm rather sure Sainte-Anne is a Catholic church," Alexa mentioned as her sister drove. "And we're Anglican, right?"

"Through and through," Karen confirmed, keeping her eyes on the road. "Well, except for the Presbyterians and Calvinists on the Scottish side of our Gordon family. But yes, de Beaupré is indeed a Catholic church."

"Why are we Anglicans commuting to a Catholic church?" queried the blonde. "If I'd known, I would've worn more muted colours."

"First of all, I love the services at Sainte-Anne," Karen explained. "I try to attend at least one service there each time I visit. Secondly, when our lovely family was driving me crazy protesting about marrying Michael, I almost took us to Sainte-Anne in a fit of pique and got as married by a Catholic priest, just to stick it to my snobby relatives, who would have simply died if I'd gone through with it."

"You didn't?" Alexa asked, smirking. "Doesn't seem like you."

"Michael talked me down and we eventually got married at St. James Cathedral downtown in Toronto," Karen admitted. "You've seen the pictures now."

"Yup," Alexa agreed. "Even been with you to services at the church. I just thought you might've married a second time, so the Blackwells could attend without bursting into flames."

"Rodney almost did anyway," Karen pointed out, making her sister laugh gaily. It was a sound she would never tire of having back in her life. She remembered blowing raspberries on this girl's tummy and little feet when she was mere months old, making the baby giggle.

And then, one day, she was gone.

She swore to herself she would never do anything to drive her sister away. The crisis this past summer had hammered this home for her. The Gordon-Blackwell sisters would never need to be apart again.

"How often did you and mom go to church?" Karen asked, realizing they'd never talked much about it up to this point.

"Well, mom certainly did, when she was able to, and I mostly went with her," Alexa replied. "I guess I did less and less as time went on."

"You in an agnostic phase?" Karen queried.

"No, just a lazy teenager phase," Alexa said, shrugging. "Freja's the one with agnostic tendencies, although she hedges her bets by going to church when she gets into trouble."

"Girl's a lunatic, so she probably is in the confession booth a lot," Karen muttered, causing Alexa to snicker. Before long, they'd reached the basilica and headed inside. To Karen's surprise and pleasure, Alexa knew her canticles, catechisms and hymns by heart, and a wonderful service followed. She prayed thankfully for having her sister back in her life and promised not to squander a moment of it.

And please give my little sister and my son the strength they'll need to face what's yet to come ...

***

At last, the sisters found themselves at the Quebec City airport, accompanied by a great many members of their family, all wanting to say their goodbyes. Alistair and Grace were the senior members present, along with nearly two dozen younger family members. Alexa tried not to cry as they all made her promise to come and visit again soon, but also said they were eagerly awaiting her invitations to the wedding in Paris when it was finally announced.

Karen handled the parting with more aplomb than her younger sibling, but she had been through these partings many times before. After nearly half an hour of goodbyes, she managed to pull her sister away from the well-wishers and through the gates, with the public address speakers blaring in French and English that their flight to Toronto was leaving momentarily.

Sitting in their comfortable seats, they both sighed and relaxed, looking at the ceiling. There were moments Alexa could still feel tension bleeding out of her.

"Not all our visits are gonna be like that, are they?" she wondered.

"Do you plan to become a high-powered business magnate and sit in the boardroom?" Karen asked.

"Nnnnnnope."

"Well then, your visits aren't all going to be like that," Karen assured her. "Hopefully mine will be less so, if I indeed successfully stifle the barbarism that we're so very good at when we're together."